Refrigerating appliance, in particular domestic freezer

ABSTRACT

A refrigerating appliance, in particular a domestic freezer, includes a basic structure and a door, which bound a thermally insulated interior when the door is closed. The door has an inner side of the door which faces the interior when the door is closed and has a seal which is intended to substantially seal the interior when the door is closed. Behind the seal, there is at least one recess in the inner side of the door for permitting passage of air beneath the seal. The seal and the at least one recess form opposite gaps which bound side edges of the seal.

The invention relates to a refrigerating appliance, in particular a domestic freezer.

When the door of a refrigerating appliance is opened, warm air then enters the interior of the refrigerating appliance, which cools after the door is closed and creates a partial vacuum that presses the door against the front side of the basic structure of the refrigerating appliance. Although the partial vacuum is equalized with time, after approximately 60 seconds, depending on the refrigerating appliance, this does however have the consequence that opening the door shortly after closing the door is rendered difficult.

DE 10 2006 040 381 A1 discloses a refrigerating appliance having a basic structure and a door mounted on the basic structure, which bound a thermally insulated interior. In order to be able to open the door easily at any time, a pressure equalization valve is fitted in the wall of the basic structure and in the case of a partial vacuum prevailing in the interior allows air to flow from the outside to the inside and closes as soon as the pressure between outside and interior has been equalized.

The object of the invention is to specify a simplified refrigerating appliance which creates conditions such that the door thereof can be opened relatively easily at any time.

The object of the invention is achieved by a refrigerating appliance, in particular by a domestic freezer, comprising a basic structure and a door which when the door is closed bound a thermally insulated interior, whereby the inner side of the door facing the interior when the door is closed has a seal which is intended to seal, at least for the most part, the interior when the door is closed, further comprising at least one recess in the inner side of the door, arranged behind the seal, which is intended to let air through beneath the seal. The refrigerating appliance according to the invention, which in particular is a freezer or the freezer compartment of a combined freezer refrigerator, accordingly comprises the door which can for example be arranged hinged on the basic structure, on the inner side of which door, in other words where applicable on the inner door of said door, is situated the seal for sealing the interior at least for the most part. In order to make it easier to open the door which in particular has been closed shortly beforehand with the result that a partial vacuum rendering opening more difficult has become established in the interior, the inner side is provided with the at least one recess beneath the seal. According to the invention, the recess is configured such that air can flow beneath the seal in particular when the door is closed into the interior of the refrigerating appliance, in other words into the interior space. The recess thus constitutes a defined leakage which results in a pressure equalization after a partial vacuum produced for example by an opening and subsequent closing.

According to a variant of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention, the inner side of the door has a groove in particular draw-formed onto the inner side, by means of which the seal is affixed on the inner side of the door.

For this purpose the seal has for example a bridge which interacts with the groove in order to be affixed on the inner side of the door. In order to ensure that air can flow through beneath the seal, according to an embodiment of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention provision is made such that an interspace is formed between the bridge and the recess.

According to an embodiment, the recess of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention is also formed in particular in the groove on the inner side of the door in one piece, in particular from one material, in particular by simultaneous draw-forming. Such a manufacturing process using for example deep drawing, generally by means of tension-compression forming, provides a prerequisite for a relatively simple and accordingly cost-effective manufacturing method for the refrigerating appliance according to the invention.

In order for example to reduce or even to prevent a danger of icing-up of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention, in particular of its evaporator, according to a preferred variant the recess is arranged in the lower half of the door, in particular in the lower third of the door.

By preference, the seal can comprise a segment in particular running horizontally in the lower region of the door, behind which the recess is arranged in particular centrally with respect to a longitudinal axis of the door. This form of embodiment has proved to be particularly beneficial for preventing icing-up of the refrigerating appliance.

According to a variant of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention, the seal is designed such and/or runs in such a manner over the recess that the seal and the recess form gaps which bound the side edges of the seal. This provides the prerequisites for the air to be able to flow beneath the seal from outside the refrigerating appliance into the interior.

According to a preferred embodiment of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention, the spatial extent of the recess perpendicular to the running direction of the seal is less than the width of the seal. It is thus possible to implement in a relatively simple manner the two gaps bounded by the side edges of the seal.

The recess can preferably be designed as having a rectangular shape, which means that the recess can be manufactured relatively simply. The edge lengths may preferably be between 20 mm and 35 mm. By preference, the edge lengths in the running direction of the groove are a maximum of 35 mm, preferably 30 mm. At right angles to the running direction of the groove the edge lengths are preferably a maximum of 30 mm, preferably 26 mm.

The recess can be formed into the inner side of the door preferably by means of forming, in particular by means of draw-forming, which can result in relatively cost-effective manufacture of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention.

Depending on the embodiment of the refrigerating appliance according to the invention, the recess is for example draw-formed on the inner door (inner side of the door) in particular at the bottom in the seal groove, preferably in the center of the door. The air can thus flow beneath the seal into the interior of the refrigerating appliance (interior space), as a result of which a specific leakage is created. The cross-section of the leakage through the aperture (recess) should where applicable be adapted to suit the refrigerating appliance in question. If for example too large a recess is chosen, the refrigerating appliance according to the invention may unintentionally bedew or ice up. Too wide a recess should also not be chosen because it is then possible for the seal to be pulled out of the groove when the door is opened.

The refrigerating appliance according to the invention offers a cost-effective solution because for example the additional pressure equalization valve used in conventional refrigerating appliances can be dispensed with. Moreover, the refrigerating appliance according to the invention can be manufactured cost-effectively because amongst other things the additional recess requires only a minor change to existing production tooling (low implementation costs). The prerequisites for a clean appearance are also provided. The recess according to the invention can be used with a relatively large number of refrigerating appliances, in particular freezers. The manufacture of the recess according to the invention in the inner door is additionally a relatively reliable process.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the attached schematic drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a domestic freezer,

FIG. 2 shows a top view of a part of the door of the domestic freezer,

FIG. 3 shows a detail view of the part of the door without a seal,

FIG. 4 shows a detail view of the part of the door with seal,

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a part of the door without seal and

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a part of the door with seal.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a domestic freezer 1 as an example of a refrigerating appliance. The domestic freezer 1 has a thermally insulated housing 2 comprising a rear wall, two side walls 3 and a lower and an upper wall 4 which bound a freezer chamber 5. The domestic freezer 1 furthermore comprises a thermally insulated door 6 mounted on the housing 2 for closing the freezer chamber 5. In the freezer chamber 5, arranged above one another, is a plurality of drawers 7 which when the door 6 is open can be withdrawn at least partially from the freezer chamber 5 for loading with frozen goods or removing stored frozen goods from them.

The domestic freezer 1 furthermore has a refrigeration circuit, not illustrated in more detail but generally known, for cooling the freezer chamber 5, which for example comprises an evaporator, a compressor and a condenser.

FIGS. 2 to 6 show detail views of the door 6 which in the case of the present exemplary embodiment has an inner skin (inner door) 8 made for example of plastic, an outer skin and insulation 9 consisting for example of foam arranged between the inner skin 8 and the outer skin.

In order to seal the freezer chamber 5 at least to the greatest possible extent when the door 6 is closed, a circumferentially running seal 10 made for example of rubber is arranged on the inner skin 8 of the door 6. The seal 10 comprises segments 10 a-10 d connecting to one another, of which the segments 10 a, 10 b run vertically in the region of the vertically running outer edges of the door 6, the section 10 c runs horizontally in the region of the upper horizontally running outer edge and the section 10 d runs horizontally in the region of the lower horizontally running outer edge 14.

In order to affix the seal 10 on the inner skin 8 of the door 6, the inner skin 8 incorporates a circumferentially running groove 11 illustrated in detail in FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 6, in which is arranged a bridge 12 of the seal 10. The inner skin 8 was produced for example from a blank made of plastic by means of a forming process, in particular by using a draw-forming process, during which the groove 11 was formed into the inner skin 8 by means of draw-forming. In this situation, FIG. 2 shows the lower part of the door 6 and in particular a top view of the inner skin 8 thereof. FIG. 6 shows a sectional side view of the bridge 12 of the seal 10.

The inner skin 8 of the door 6 furthermore has a draw-formed recess 13 in the region of the groove 11. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a detail top view of the inner skin 8 in the region of the recess 13 and FIGS. 5 and 6 show a sectional detail view of the door 6 in the region of the recess 13, whereby FIGS. 3 and 5 show the detail views without and FIGS. 4 and 6 the detail views with seal 10.

In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, the recess 13 was draw-formed into the groove 11 in the inner skin 8 of the door 6 and is situated centrally in the lower region of the door 6, in other words in the region of the groove 11 in which the segment 10 d of the seal 10 runs horizontally in the region of the lower horizontally running outer edge 14.

In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, the recess 13 is rectangular with a horizontal extent of 30 mm and a vertical extent of 26.1 mm. The recess 13 is furthermore formed sufficiently deeply into the inner skin 8 of the door 6 such that the bridge 12 of the seal 10 does not touch the surface of the inner skin 8 in the region of the recess 13.

With the seal 10 affixed, the recess 13 is arranged behind the seal 10. The recess 13 or the seal 10 is moreover chosen such that when the door 6 is closed air can flow by way of the recess 13 beneath the seal 10 from outside the freezer chamber 5 into the interior of the freezer chamber 5. In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, this is implemented by the fact that the seal 10 and the inner skin 8 form an upper gap 16 and a lower gap 17 in the region of the recess 13, with the result that air can flow from outside the freezer chamber 5 by way of the lower gap 17, then beneath the seal 10 and finally over the upper gap 16 into the freezer chamber 5, as is illustrated in FIG. 6 by arrows 15.

In FIG. 4 illustrating a top view of the inner skin 8 of the door 6 in the region of the recess 13 with seal 10, the seal 10 is shown such that the seal 10 at least in the region of the recess 13 is thinner than the vertical extent of the recess 13, and in the region of the recess 13 the seal 10 runs over the recess 13 such that the upper gap 16 is produced above the seal 10 in the region of the recess 13 and the lower gap 17 is produced beneath the seal 10 in the region of the recess 13.

In FIG. 6 illustrating a sectional view of the inner skin 8 of the door 6 in the region of the recess 13 with seal 10, although the seal 10 is configured such that in the region of the recess 13 it partially overlaps the recess 13 when viewed from above, it is however sufficiently far away from the surface of the inner skin 8 to enable the two gaps 16, 17 to be produced.

The domestic freezer 1 is illustrated as a separate domestic freezer 1, which is not however absolutely necessary. The domestic freezer 1 can thus in particular also be part of a combined refrigerator/freezer.

List of reference characters 1 Domestic freezer 2 Housing 3 Side walls 4 Upper wall 5 Freezer chamber 6 Door 7 Drawer 8 Inner skin 9 Insulation 10 Seal 10a-10d Segment 11 Groove 12 Bridge 13 Recess 14 Outer edge 15 Arrows 16 Upper gap 17 Lower gap 

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A refrigerating appliance, comprising: a basic structure; a door bounding with the basic structure a thermally insulated interior when the door is closed, said door having an inner side which faces the interior when the door is closed and includes at least one recess; and a seal provided on the inner side to substantially seal the interior when the door is closed, wherein the at least one recess is arranged behind the seal and permits passage of air through beneath the seal, said seal and said at least one recess forming opposite gaps which bound side edges of the seal.
 12. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, constructed to form a domestic freezer.
 13. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the seal is constructed to extend across the at least one recess.
 14. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess is arranged in a lower half of the door.
 15. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess is arranged in a lower third of the door.
 16. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the seal comprises a segment behind which the at least one recess is arranged.
 17. The refrigerating appliance of claim 16, wherein the segment runs horizontally in a lower region of the door.
 18. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess is arranged centrally behind the segment with respect to a longitudinal axis of the door.
 19. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the inner side of the door has a groove for securement of the seal on the inner side of the door.
 20. The refrigerating appliance of claim 19, wherein the at least one recess is formed in the groove on the inner side of the door in one piece.
 21. The refrigerating appliance of claim 19, wherein the at least one recess and the groove are made from one material.
 22. The refrigerating appliance of claim 19, wherein the at least one recess and the groove are made by simultaneous draw-forming.
 23. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess is arranged in a center of the door.
 24. The refrigerating appliance of claim 23, wherein the at least one recess is draw-formed.
 25. The refrigerating appliance of claim 19, wherein the seal has a bridge interacting with the groove, said at least one recess having a depth to form an interspace between the bridge and the at least one recess.
 26. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess has in perpendicular relation to a running direction of the seal a spatial extent which is less than a width of the seal.
 27. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess has a rectangular shape.
 28. The refrigerating appliance of claim 27, wherein the at least one recess has edge lengths between 20 mm and 35 mm.
 29. The refrigerating appliance of claim 19, wherein the at least one recess has a rectangular shape defined by an edge length of a maximum of 35 mm in a direction of the groove.
 30. The refrigerating appliance of claim 29, wherein the edge length is 30 mm.
 31. The refrigerating appliance of claim 19, wherein the at least one recess has a rectangular shape defined by an edge length of a maximum of 30 mm in a direction at right angles to the groove.
 32. The refrigerating appliance of claim 31, wherein the edge length is 26 mm.
 33. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess is formed into the inner side of the door by a forming process.
 34. The refrigerating appliance of claim 11, wherein the at least one recess is formed into the inner side of the door by draw-forming. 